The REAL reason Nicolas Cage isn't in Green Hornet

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Once upon a time, the Oscar winner was slated to play the villain in Michel Gondry's update of the classic serial hero. And then he wasn't. The reason why Cage left is just bizarre enough to be true.

The New York Times did a story peeking behind the curtains of director Michel Gondry's superheroic thriller, starring Seth Rogen, Jay Chou and Christoph Waltz. And in talking about an earlier version of the project, which was to be directed by Kung Fu Hustle's Stephen Chow, the piece mentions that Cage was still attached when Gondry took over.

However, Gondry found one element of Cage's portrayal of the villain too disconcerting:

For reasons known only to him, he insisted on using a Jamaican accent. "I was quite relieved when he announced he no longer wanted the part," Mr. Gondry said.

Now, no one knows why Cage decided to go so off the reservation. Maybe he was simply tickled by rasta-villainy. Or perhaps he really didn't want to be in Gondry's version and orchestrated an elaborate escape plan.